Prince Patel

I feel that instore retail has a big opportunity to make a comeback. The argument that online products are cheaper is not very persuasive anymore. Many sellers are taking advantages of the unwillingness of customers to leave their houses to increase the price to surpass in-store products. I agree with this blog about how technology can play a big role in this reversal. Stores can use technology like how Amazon Go stores had captivate their customers. They use hundreds of cameras, weight sensing technology, and QR codes to accurately track customer’s purchases. The customers do not need to wait in line, which is one of the drawbacks to in-store shopping, as the technologies used have accurately track and bill their purchases. The WIFI and RFID can be used to achieve a similar function as Amazon Go store to bring back customers with novelty and efficiency.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/03/tech/amazon-go/index.html

I think it’s an exciting time for retailers to rethink the retail process. Its time for retailers to break the mold and start captivating customers with an in store experience based on emerging technologies. Leveraging technologies like AR and VR, stores can begin to offer an exciting and and immersive shopping experience. IKEA is using AR to help you plan if furniture will fit in the space you have. This use of AR is decreasing product returns and helping customers get it right the first time. Retail is becoming stale but by applying creative technological solutions to enhance or retool your in store processes retail could become king again.

https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/blogs/how-emerging-technologies-are-changing-the-retail-shopping-experience/

There has been so much innovation in term of online commerce in the last 20 years. Amazon has risen into the one-stop-shop for everything, and it is online. I like that the idea of brick-and-mortar shops are being developed along with eCommerce. There is still value in the physical store, as you can actually see and touch what you are buying. You can wear the clothes before purchasing them, and you can check the fruit and make sure that is the one you want. At the same time, there are some caveats to how the RFID and buyer behavior system is being implemented. I find it unsettling that all of my purchases are being monitored by the store, and my decisions are being alerted to workers. I like things best when I’m left alone. We shall see how this is used in the near future.

It truly is amazing how far technology has come to where robots are now able to play strategic games like Jenga or even Chess. Machine learning is something that will one day evolve around us and may become part of everyday life. For example, an automobile like the Tesla can detect and read the road and make thousands of adjustments every second for maximum occupant comfort. It does this with radars and uses the GPS to predict which type of roads (hill, curves) are upcoming. With all of this being said, I am happy I chose a major that is IT related when we are living in a quickly evolving IT world.

This topic is really interesting to me because normally you would not think about designing a robot to play games. I have heard of ones that solve medical problems, assist in manufacturing, and even in vacuums, but the fact that robots are now being designed to do other, less important tasks, means that they might have a more profound impact on our lives in the future. Ideas can flow freely now. Robots may be an important aspect in every part of our lives in the near future.

These chatbots are the way of the future. At times they can be annoying but they are very cost effective. I wonder if Microsoft and other companies will be able to fully replace call centers with AI.

I wonder how many ChatBots are portrayed as humans on websites that offer 24/7 customer support. It interesting to see how long it takes before people trust a ChatBot to solve their customer issues over another human. From personal experience, when I have to get hardware replaced at work, I prefer to speak with another person rather than a possible ChatBot on the website. I’ve some instances where I am forced to keep explaining the same issue over again whereas I know that I usually won’t have to with a person over the phone. I can’t wait to see how these bots will evolve and change the face customer support.

As annoying as these chat bots usually are, they save a ton of time. I know people who worked with customer support and there are some many calls that come in that they describe as incredibly simple and not worth their time. By having chat bots that can actually assist people and successfully imitate, maybe companies like Microsoft can start rolling out bots that people are comfortable with using. I know personally that whenever I call somewhere that has an automated line menu or voice-controlled system, I am immediately more annoyed than I should be at both the issue and the business so if companies can convince people that they aren’t talking to a bot, that will surely reflect well on your business.

Another example of innovative, disruptive technology is 3D printing. In the near future, 3D printing is set to transform the way that items are designed, manufactured and distributed in many of the key, evolving industries. By cutting labor costs and improving time efficiency, 3D printing can use a wide variety of materials and techniques to create a final product. Specifically in the automotive industry, 3D printing is seen as a tool to benefit business. In 2014, vehicle manufacturer Local Motors revealed the world’s first 3D printed car, named Strati after the Italian word for layers. Local Motors’ next project is to release an entire series of 3D printed cars called LM3D. As automakers adopt 3D Printing, rival companies will experiment with materials and deliverables to offer the best product, including IoT connectivity. The construction industry and 3D Print technology could answer the current cry for housing in an overpopulated world. 3D Printing has the potential to disrupt the construction industry on a fundamental level, especially in cutting the necessary labor supply. Lastly in the health care industry, 3D printing has been used to make surgical models for training and trial surgery, as well as creating functional replacement body parts from prosthetic limbs to organs and skin. Across industries, 3D printing has proved that it can penetrate the market and make a lasting impact, along with saving both time and money.

This is a very interesting topic and really hones in on the idea that technology is for a business purpose. As you mentioned, Netflix had a business purpose to provide movies at a more affordable rate. I believe in the future, all businesses are at risk to be taken over by technological improvements. For instance, Uber eliminated the costly feature of taxi shields, which in NYC can cost hundreds of thousands. Building upon your idea, this led to massive investment potential for investors. In another 10 years, disruptive technology will greatly affect our daily lives.

It’s always interesting to study how disruptive technology can upheave societal standards of living. At the exponential rate that technological advances are progressing, it’s intriguing to see what type of technological innovation will reshape society in the future. I feel like one of the most glaring disruptive innovations is smartphones and the capabilities they have provided in the last 10 years or so. The ability to access any kind of information or entertainment at the touch of your fingertips has revolutionized communication. I wonder how quickly society will adapt to these new disruptive systems in the future and how quickly universities will begin expanding their courses to keep up with these technological disruptions.

Consumers will be very pleased to spend less time and hopefully less money receiving healthcare services. While the process is improving, it’s possible that service providers will forget the human element to healthcare. I hope that technology can also be used the healthcare environment to empower patients to better understand their health.

Faster results that are connected through one cloud technology will no doubt make the hospital run more efficiently, which will help the overall health of the public. Hospitals are different from the average business because the quality of the hospital has a relatively large impact on the surrounding community. Not only will faster service allow for decreased wait times for patients, but for doctors and support staff to more effectively use their time. This transfer of effort can be applied to better service and be better for the public and also make the hospital more money. This solution is not only helping the hospital, but the community. this is just another example of how IT systems can make the world better!

Tym,

I really enjoy the idea of our country moving towards a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly transportation model. It is clear that Ford isn’t producing any groundbreaking and disruptive innovation, but one can see that the market is shifting in a way that will likely result in some sort of disruptive innovation. The quicker gas and diesel are phased out, the greater a platform there will be for electric transportation to take the mainstage and prove its relevancy in this place and time. I personally find the appeal of an electric truck to be higher than the gas-powered, as their inefficiency is my main deterrent. Affordability will be an issue as always, but I can envision a future where the market has completely shifted.

Interesting stuff Tym, if you happen to know when the organizational transformation started, I would love to talk about it. Such a structurally deep change in such a large company was probably a very extreme process, as we have seen in many cases. It’s interesting to see how much organizational structure can still impact that operations of a technology, especially of Microsoft’s size.

I find this to be a fairly major structural change within Microsoft, especially given its size and influence in the technology industry. From my knowledge of Microsoft, I know the company was undergoing some business challenges in 2015 and early 2016, so I view this as a response to overcome inefficiencies and lack of innovation within the company. Since this change is still relatively new, I’m interested to see what type of impact it will have on Microsoft’s efficiency and upcoming product launches over the next few years.

Tym – you mention that “hackers tend to understand human habits and the interdependence of systems which allows them to exploit multiple systems in one breach,” and go on to say “in order for security to improve, medical IT employees should start viewing their systems as interdependent structures rather than separate systems when configuring and implementing new technologies.” These two statements conflict with one another – if hackers understand system interdependence, how can we build a stronger wall of defense? I think it’s all a matter of healthcare providers shifting focus from yesterday’s security threats to tomorrow’s security threats, understanding the cyber landscape they are playing in and how they can best uphold the integrity of their patient’s information and care.